Tire or tractor belt



vPatented Dec. 19, 1922.

VU TE YSTES 'MAX L. SCHLUETER, on CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TIRE OR TRACTOR BELT.

Application mea may is,

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX L. SCHLUETER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, Stateof Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tire or Tractor Belts, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others Skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a vsimple and novel tractor beltl for light tractors ofthe endless belt type, which will Serve as an eiiicient cushion forfthe load.

' for its'object to The principle of my invention is applicable to single wheels as well as' to multiple wheels and therefore, viewedY in one of -its aspects, my invention may be said to have produce a Vsimple 'and novel cushion tire.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointedv .out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed Idescription taken in connection with the accompanyingfdrawing wherein:

Figure 1 is,a side view of the traction lwheels on one side of a light tractor of the endless belt type, plied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1, ytogether with a fragment of the body of the tractor;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on line 3 3 of Fig. 1,l on a larger scale than Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on line 4 4: of Fig. 1, the scale being approxihaving my invention ap- `mately the same as that of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section .on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

F ig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified form which may either be a tractor belt or a tire, only a fragment of the wheel being shown;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to a modification; and

Fig. 8 is a section on yline 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to Figs. 1-6 of the .,drawing, 1 and 2 represent tworoad wheels of a tractor, the same having comparatively wide rims 3, the peripheries of which are in the form of Shallow troughs. These wheels are as Fig. 1 showing 1920. Serial No. 382,633.

sociatedin any body, 1s an wide, fiat belt, 5, preferably made of rub er and fabric in the manner of so-called rubber belts, power belts, or casing for pneumatic tires. On the inner side of the belt is a rib or projection, 6, extending along the lon itudinal center thereof, theY saine' being pre 'erably made of an efficient cushioning material such as rubber. a The rib is prefer-v ably narrower than the troughs of the rims so that it may rock in the same and expand;v laterally under a load without wellin over the sides of the rims. On the outer side of thebelts are transverse cleats, 7, distributed along the same, lthe cleats being also preferably of a good cushioning material such as rubber.

Instead of the cleats, there may be onY the outersideof the belt a ribA similar to the rib 6, as indicated at 8 in Fig. 6. With this latter arrangement, the traction device will rest on a narrow tread surfacewhile traveling over 'hard i surfaces but, when soft y ground or sand are'enoountered, the device will sink until'the flat belt itself becomes a treadsxsur'face. Both forms yof tractor devices, particularly that illustrated A in Fig. 6, may be used as Ytires for individual wheels instead of as endless belts.

4. Extending around the two wheels suitable way with a tractor l endless traction device comprisin a- .I

In the arran ement shown in Fig. 1, the.'v mainl tractive e ort would be directlyunder- -neath the axes of the wheels, since the lower.

tion, I provide one or more small wheels, 9, having grooved peripheries adapted to .fit-

the rib 6 of the tractor device, this wheel or wheels being supported between the main load-carrying wheels inengagement with the lower run of the tractor device and serving to hold it down against the supporting surface. The wheel or wheels, 9, may be held in place in any suitable Way. In the arrangement shown, I have provided a structure for this purpose whichis independent of 'the frame of the tractor but depends wholly for its support on the load-carrying wheels. This-structure comprises a frame, j 11,having thereon four wheels, 12, 13, 14 and 15,and carrying at its lower end the Wheel ors wheels, 9. The wheels, v-12 to 15, are so located that when the parts are assembled, the wheels 12 and. 15 run in the 'trough of the l0adcarrying wheel 1, above and below a horizontal plane containing the axes of the latter wheel, while the wheels 13 and l4zbear the same relation to the other load-carrying wheel 2. The frame, 1l, can not become displaced laterally because the wheels thereon are interloclred with the loadcarrying wheels and the endless tractor device, and it cannot move'up or down be cause of the relations between the wheels 12 to 15 and the load-carrying wheels. It will therefore be seen thatv the free span of the lower run of the endless tractor device is prevented from rising when it encounters an obstruction, so' that the entire lower run of the device becomes an effective tractor element under all conditions.

In Figs. 7 and 8 l have shown an arrangement adapted for severe service. In the arrangement illustrated in these figures, instead of the single wheels l and 2, I employ wheels arranged in pairs, 20 and 21, lying beside each other on the same shaft or axle and spaced apart somewhat at their rims.

The belt, 22, is made wide enough to extend Y across both rims of each double wheel and, in* stead of having a single cushioning rib or projection on the inner or underside, it is provided with two such ribs or projections, 23 and 2a, each of which rests in the troughlike rim, 3, of the correspondin wheel. In order to insure that the belt wlll not jump from the wheels, l. provide it with a series of metal vanes, 25, disposed end to end along the longitudinal center; each vane being secured to the belt only at the middle and having the edge which faces the belt curved on the same radius as that of the wheels. The vanes are preferably tapered or wedgeshaped in cross section and are deep-enough to extend well down between the rims of each double wheel as they pass around the same. By curving the vanes, as shown, they do not interfere with the free operation of the belt,

fication.

permitting the latter to curve itself to conform to the wheels and to straighten lout along the upper and lower runsy between the wheels.V By making the vanes tapered or wedge-shaped, they will be guided positively into the space between the two-wheels of each pair.

While l have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, with slight modications, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

l claim:

1. A traction device comprising two wheels having trough-like rims, an endless belt extending around both of said wheels and having on its inner face a central rib of cushioning material deeper than the troughs in the rims extending longitudinally of the same and resting in the trough of the rims, a grooved wheel resting on the rib of the lvlower' run of said belt, and meansengaging the two first-mentioned wheels for holding the other wheel against bodily displacement.

2. A traction device comprising two wheels having trough-like rims, an endless belt extending around both of said wheels and having on its inner face a central'rib of cushioning material extending longitudinally of the same and resting in the trough of the rims, a grooved wheel resting on the.

rib of the lower run of said belt, a frame for supporting the last-mentioned wheel, and rolling elements on said frame engaging with each ofthe other wheels both above and below a plane containing the axes of the latter.

ln testnnony whereof, l sign this specif MAX; L. soHLUnrna. 

